Tag Archives: Shi Sai

autumn to winter to spring – a ReVerse Poem

It’s been a minute…three seasons in fact, since I collected lines from previously penned poems and constructed a ReVerse Poem. The intriguing thing is that it seems as though I have landed right where I started…face toward the sun. Another odd thing I noticed was a repeat separated by months of me thinking myself silly for thinking. As Alice was known to comment, “curiouser and curiouser”.

I’m well into the second year of the new normal thrust upon us by a series of unfortunate medical events. It still feels foreign to my partner and me. When you’ve spent decades planning a certain thing and the universe throws a plot twist into your best laid plans… well, I suppose we are still grieving. Spring will be a welcome break from the dreariness of winter; its warmth and sunshine a healing touch. Just what we need.

The hummingbirds will be returning soon. Life does go on…yes it does. 🥰🌱🌼🌞🐣🦋🐝


autumn to winter to spring - a ReVerse Poem 

her full face at dawn
burdened with secrets and
lessons from the past ignored
silly me for ever thinking

drawing us deep into the one
to sleep at the feet of our mother
the in between has lost its charm

when hope was a thing
I caught her smiling
she slumbers, dreaming of spring
once upon a time she was fierce,

how silly of me to think it

it keeps me up nights
I see it clearly
it’s time…turn your face to the sun

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week…or in this case, the past several months.


A “Mash-Up” ReVerse Poem – Sunday, 3 September 2023

Well it’s been a week. Took time away from my day job to catch up on a few big projects at home. Here in the US we call it a staycation but don’t let that close kinship to the word vacation fool you. Staycations are anything but relaxing, recharging, getaways because, as the name implies, one “stays”. All this to say after an exhausting week, I only managed to pen three poems. I really like the shadorma though, and will give it another go next week when life settles into normal.

With only three days worth of inspiration to glean from, I decided to do a full harvest of verse taking each line in sequence from each day. A mashup reVerse poem if you will, rather than waiting for another week to assemble adequate content. Amazingly, it works.

We’d less to say, the silly chores did not wait, but I have a much cleaner garage to show for it, several appointments finally attended after having been canceled when life sidetracked our plans, and I got a few naps in…boy did I need those.

I’m looking forward to this coming week, getting back to my day job and the routine I’ve perfected over the course of this challenging year. I’m still exhausted but it feels oh so good to be able to find a hammer when I need one!

Happy September and impending Autumn to you! The cooler mornings are exhilarating! 😊


A “Mash-Up” ReVerse Poem - Sunday, 3 September 2023

a day off
clouds hang low
this I know
with so much to do
a blanket of mist
when nothing seems true
but I’m trapped
dawn is east
underneath
on treetops
dusk is west
two hundred pounds of pure love
cool rain droplets dust my face
the sun rises, then it sets
silly chores can wait
this could be heaven
the moon lights the night

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time.


A ReVerse Poem ~ Sunday ~ 27 August 2023

Tried something a bit different with this week’s reverse poem. It actually covers the past two weeks. When I put together last weeks verses, I felt it needed more. So now I’ve included those short snippets in italics as background thoughts around the longer verses from this past week’s roundup. I think it works. It took a little more effort but it speaks to me of life right now in general.

Crazy as things may be right now, there are always flickers of beauty, splendor…magnificent. We can curse the dark clouds when they come billowing in or we can embrace the cool refreshing rain. It’s our choice. We have opportunities every day, several times a day in fact, where we can choose light over darkness, gratefulness over bitterness, goodness over evil, truth over lies, kindness over hatefulness. And especially this past week I have been keenly aware of the ways nature encourages us to look deeper. To find treasure in the midst of weeds. If not this, then we’re just taking up space and wasting air.

Choose beauty, light, love and truth my friends. It’s there…I promise! 🥰


A ReVerse Poem ~ 27 August 2023

like heavy fog settles in the hollows
in a rush, longing for
dusk settles the dross
you’re thinking…it’s worth
twenty-thousand serendipities to savor
or two crows
when gaslights endlessly flicker
…who saved who?
where swelling creeks giggle over rocks when it rains
love, kindness,
before hatred…trauma

monsters don’t hide in closets, under beds, or in the shadows these days
they assured me
there is always an element of sweetness in the bitter

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time.


A ReVerse Poem ~ Sunday, 13 August 2023

It’s an interesting ReVerse Poem today. Much of my time this past week was spent seeking out the tiniest details of the world around me, and noticing that perfection is not spared even to the smallest cell. Attention to detail. It’s actually listed in my day job description. I’m good at it. Perfected over the years. And while I have a razor sharp gift for finding typos and planning every possible scenario of a project, itinerary, or event, my personal life has been rather frazzled of late.

Perhaps it is because I have been feeling small and vulnerable as we manage our way through an unwelcome plot twist that has challenged our plan for a leisurely retirement. Retirement? Haha! What was I thinking back before things got so complicated. Facing the fact that your partner is likely permanently disabled and you are the primary caretaker is a lot to take in. The little things matter all the more to me these days. They remind me to pause, to breathe, to rest. I’m not good at any of those things.

So, thank you tiny miracles that have caught my attention this week. I need you more now than ever. My soul devours you like a great blue whale sweeps through schools of krill. Nature and nurture is not an either or proposition. Nature IS nurture. Be well this coming week. I wish you happiness and peace.


A ReVerse Poem ~ Sunday, 13 August 2023

storms rarely come without warning
don’t ask unless you want to know
when my soul’s in need of healing
underneath the juniper tree
just beyond the blackberry hedge
facing eternity with grace
perfection takes more than a day

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time.


ReVerse Poem ~ Sunday, 6 August 2023

a bonded pair of mourning doves ~ photo by Kat Myrman ~ 2023

Today’s Reverse draws its inspiration from each stanza from the past week since I fell out of my daily cadence for a few days. Sometimes my hard drive just needs a reboot or two to stop spinning. I hate that sound, the whirring out of control ringing, causing my RAM to scatter as my operating system slowly glitches to a crashing blank monitor. Yep, reboot is the only remedy when this happens. Or, in case you’re not following my geeky summarization, identifying the need for intervention, self care, deep breathing, very long naps, several of them.

So that’s how our week went…high anticipation…tentative, compounding disappointment, biting reality suckiness…high anticipation, again, tinged with trepidation, disappointment looming, biting reality suckiness…my beloved and I, as her caretaker, learning the hard truth that life will not be going as planned, and me racking my brain for plan D, E, F or G…I’ve lost count. To be honest we’re long past A, B and C. The villain? A rare disorder called CRPS (aka an incurable chronic disorder comprised of angry nerves and excruciating, unmitigated pain). I don’t know how she endures this day in and day out. She inspires me every day as she shows up to life. As for me…I’m girding my loins…I’m not really sure what that means, but I’m girding nonetheless, for the battle ahead in search ways to manage this, our new normal, for meaningful treatment, and ultimately for a cure. Plot twists are a bitch! Through it all we remain optimistic, and hopeful, and grateful for each breath. It’s life. It’s our life.

Oh…did I mention that I was privileged to witness the Carolina fledglings take their first flight? There was that too this week. 💚

I hope this finds you and those you love healthy and happy. Find someone…anyone really, and hug them. They probably need it. 💚


ReVerse Poem ~ Sunday, 6 August 2023

I’ve settled softly into my skin
lulling sleeping fools along
I’d dream of sleep, if only
slow drip, struggle is all I know
the cow jumped over the moon
but what’s a truth seeker to do
nothing’s left to be debated
signs are everywhere, can’t miss it
deceived by the cool breeze at dawn

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time.